Saudis show interest in WAVES ’25 & broader media collabs

India and Saudi Arabia have laid the groundwork for a long-term collaboration in digital media, broadcasting and entertainment with promises of leveraging respective strengths in the rapidly evolving global media landscape, Doordarshan News has reported from Dubai.

An Indian government delegation, which recently met up with senior Saudi Arabian counterparts and entertainment industry representatives, also said that the Saudi entertainment industry evinced keen interest in the inaugural edition of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 to be held in Mumbai from May 1-4.

“The enthusiastic response from our Saudi counterparts regarding WAVES 2025 and their interest in comprehensive media sector collaboration marks a significant milestone in Indo-Saudi relations,” DD News quoted Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Secretary Jaju as saying.

The report added that the timing of these discussions is particularly relevant as both nations work to diversify their economies and strengthen their positions in the global digital entertainment market.

Apart from Jaju, the Indian team comprised Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi, Raman Kumar, Director of Global Outreach at Prasar Bharati, and MIB’s deputy-director-digital Kshitij Aggarwal.

The delegation met with key Saudi media leaders including Jomana R. Alrashid, CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), and Assistant Minister of Media Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Maghlouth.

The DD news report emphasised that the diplomatic initiative represented a crucial step in India’s strategy to establish itself as a leading force in the global entertainment industry.

In recent times, Saudi Arabia has been positioning itself as a go-to destination for film shootings and the Saudi government also has announced major and very attractive cash incentives for shooting in the picturesque locales of the desert kingdom.

Apart from that, Bollywood stars like Janhvi Kapoor have been endorsing Saudi Arabia as an attractive tourist destination in the Indian media.

(Image courtesy DD News)

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Amazing and grim battle for survival. Guess it will end up in Supreme Court. All that NCLT asked Zee to do was to file a reply to Invesco petition for a EGM. Now this is getting too serious. So far Invesco has been hammered for demanding an EGM. What is Zee upto? Ofcourse my lawyer community knows better!